Building Australia’s Future in Life Sciences: Reflections from the Life Sciences Real Estate Summit

By Lauren O’Donnell, Senior Associate

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Life Sciences Real Estate Summit in Sydney, where leaders from across the sector gathered to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping this rapidly growing field. The conversations reinforced what we at HSPC Health Architects see every day in our work: that the life sciences sector is at the forefront of Australia’s innovation economy, and its growth is reshaping the way we think about real estate, design, and community building.

The momentum behind life sciences

With strong investment and global research incentives, life sciences real estate is experiencing unprecedented demand. It is a sector that thrives on people, partnerships and place. But for Australia, the question is: how do we build the right environments to retain talent, foster discovery and translate research into commercialisation at scale?

Adaptive reuse and purpose-built opportunity

Much discussion centred on adaptive reuse, repurposing existing buildings for laboratories and research facilities. While adaptive reuse can accelerate delivery, it comes with constraints: floor to floor heights, slab strengths and HVAC requirements often present challenges. In some cases, purpose-built developments offer the most effective solution, especially when coupled with the regulatory and licensing requirements unique to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

Ecosystems and education precincts

One of the strongest themes was the role of ecosystems and hubs, particularly around education precincts. Melbourne offers great examples, with Parkville and Monash emerging as thriving clusters where universities, hospitals and research centres converge. These precincts become more than the sum of their parts, encouraging knowledge exchange, attracting venture capital and creating the sticky tenant mix that private equity is seeking.

Build the facilities and systems now

A story that resonated deeply was that of Gardasil, the cervical cancer preventative developed here in Australia. At the time, our infrastructure was not prepared for manufacturing, so production moved offshore to the US. It is a reminder of what is at stake: if we do not build the facilities and systems now, we risk losing both our home grown talent and the economic benefits of their discoveries.

A national imperative

Globally, there are many models from the US to Asia and Europe demonstrating how life sciences real estate can thrive. For Australia, there is no one size fits all. We must define our own approach while leaning into our strengths: good land, good people and good governance. But this requires a national vision and collective advocacy to government. The sector is still maturing, and now is the time to make noise.

Building success through partnerships

At HSPC, we have been privileged to work on projects that embody this spirit of cross pollination. At Maroochy Private Hospital, clinical trials are located within the same building as a day surgical hospital, enabling specialists to collaborate in new ways. Our work at AMREP (Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct) also set an early precedent for co-locating research and healthcare on one campus.

Looking ahead

The summit reinforced that life sciences do not work in isolation. They need to be embedded within education and health ecosystems, supported by strong real estate strategies, and championed as a national priority. With the right alignment of vision, investment and design, Australia has the potential not just to participate in the global life sciences sector, but to lead it, on our own terms.

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